`Forensic' gets down to nitty-gritty crime solving

September 05, 2002|By Zap2it.

LOS ANGELES — For the current glut of TV shows featuring crime-solving forensic detectives, we can thank science and O.J. Simpson.

DNA evidence didn't win a conviction of an accused criminal until 1985, and it wasn't until Simpson's mid-'90s murder trial that advanced evidence-gathering techniques became part of the public consciousness, says Paul Dowling, creator of Court TV's documentary series "Forensic Files."

"I think [the Simpson trial] changed the way a lot of people look at our justice system and crime detection and science, in some positive ways and some negative ways," Dowling says. "That really started the whole thing."

The "whole thing" is the explosion of pop-culture interest in forensics, putting a high-tech spin on the public's enduring fascination with crime stories. Along with fictional shows such as "CSI" and "Crossing Jordan," "Forensic Files" delves into a world where a microscopic fiber or drop of blood can be the key to finding a criminal.

Dowling says that while he likes to teach viewers a little bit about the science of forensics in each episode, he and his staff -- which includes journalists, a geneticist and a physician -- also look for compelling stories. One such case involved a woman in Canada who claimed her doctor gave her a sedative and then sexually assaulted her.

"She goes to the police with these charges, and they have the doctor give his blood. It doesn't match the biological material in the rape kit," Dowling says. "Two years later, she demands another DNA test that's a little more sophisticated. Once again, it doesn't match. And by the way, the officers are right there, they see the needle go into the doctor's arm."

The case remains unsolved for several more years, until the woman hires a private investigator. "[The investigator] breaks into the doctor's car and takes a tube of lip balm," Dowling relates. "With her own money, she has a DNA test done, and it matches the material in the rape kit. Why? Because the doctor had surgically implanted a clear tube in his arm [filled] with a patient's blood. How do you make that up?"

Dowling says the fictional shows that deal with forensics stay pretty faithful to the real science, and he occasionally sends tapes to "CSI's" producers.

"I think shows like ours can help them, and their shows help us," he says. "Of course, they can take a little more dramatic license, but I think a rising tide lifts all boats."